Changes and Secrets

Chapter 11 - Sleep and Snylluvus

Harry woke up in the Astronomy tower. How he got there, he had no clue. Did he care? Not particularly. All he wanted to do was hide. Ron's words echoed back to him, and a stab of betrayal pierced through his heart. He stared out into the night, not caring about the time, and began to think. 

What's even keeping me here? he asked himself. Why do I need to be here? Why can't I just leave? 

Just as he was beginning to formulate a plan to disappear, his ears picked up on soft footsteps moving up the stairs in the tower. The footsteps reached the top and stopped. 

"Harry?" a soft voice called, almost as though the person believed that they were seeing something that wasn't actually there. The familiar voice led Harry to jump from his corner and fling himself at the man who had just appeared. 

He collided with the wizard and wrapped his arms tightly around his torso, ignoring the small "oof" that came from the older man. Strong arms wrapped around him, one arm around his waist and one arm around his upper back. A kind hand wove itself into Harry's hair and cradled his head to the man's chest, where a steady heartbeat soothed Harry's frazzled nerves. 

"Hey, easy. You're alright," Remus said calmingly. "What's wrong?" 

In a choked voice punctuated by sobs, Harry told the older werewolf everything that had happened earlier that night. Rage burned in Remus, directed at the red-headed imbecile who thought that he could callously attack Harry like that. Harry was his friend, his Alpha, his mate. Nothing hurt his Harry. 

Remus took a deep breath, processing, acknowledging, and storing his anger to be brought out at another, more appropriate time. Harry didn't need him to be angry on his behalf, Harry needed him to be strong and comforting, someone to whom he could run when life proved to be too much. 

Remus didn't bother with any of the colloquialisms that people commonly told others when something was going wrong. Harry would find them annoying and not in the least helpful. Therefore, Remus decided to act rather than speak to try to comfort his pup. 

"Come on. Let's go down to my rooms. You can sleep there, if you want," he offered. Harry seemed too upset and tired to refuse as he tried to stand without Remus' help. After a few seconds of imbalance, Harry finally managed to stand upright. 

Remus wrapped an arm around the young werewolf's shoulders, surprised when Harry reciprocated and wrapped an arm around Remus' waist. Refusing to be distracted, Remus steered Harry gently down the tower, through the castle, and to a large, blank space in the wall. The werewolf pulled out his wand and tapped the bricks in a specific order. The bricks began to fold themselves away one by one, surprisingly quiet as they did so. Soon, a large mahogany door was revealed. 

Remus grabbed one of the shining brass doorknobs and opened the door, guiding Harry through into the space beyond. With a flick of his wand, Remus pulled blankets and pillows out from hidden places and placed them on the couch. 

"You can sleep here for as long as you need, ok? I will be getting up around 7, so don't let that alarm you," Remus told Harry. The boy simply nodded and curled up on the couch. Within seconds he was asleep, not even having had the time to pull the blanket over himself. 

Remus looked at his mate and smiled softly, before gently pulling the blanket over Harry. He then gently removed the glasses from Harry's face and placed them on the coffee table where he was sure Harry would be able to find them. He allowed a lingering hand to rest on Harry's head, then ruffled the hair softly and left. 

The wolf inside Remus, who was generally inactive except during transformations, was crying out for Remus to go back, for Remus to lay next to his mate and take Harry in his arms so that the young wolf was protected from anything that might cause him distress.